Kaskia: A Hero's Awakening

Chapter 3

"Hurry up Aiden!" Rina yelled, anxious to get back to practicing her magic.

"Hold on! I'm looking for my dagger!" Aiden yelled back from his room. He rummaged through his dresser and pile of clothes laying at the foot of his bed. "Got it!" He shouted triumphantly, holding his dagger up. He quickly put the dagger in its sheath resting on his belt and ran out of the house to join his sister.

Rina waited by the nearest tree to the woods, taping her foot impatiently. "About time!" She chided. "I have a couple of ideas that I want to try!"

"What ideas?" Aiden questioned, his eyebrow arching out of curiosity.

"You'll have to wait and see." Rina replied, smiling as she skipped into the forest. "Do you think it's going to rain again?"

"No." Aiden answered, looking at the clouds in the sky. "They're not dark enough."

Aiden questioned and pried, trying to get her to tell him her ideas. He wanted to know what she came up with to help her accomplish her goal. He was so focused on getting the information out of her, Aiden did not see the low branch, and walked right into it, knocking him to the ground. Rina burst out laughing so hard that she tripped over a root and fell to the ground next to her brother. Both Aiden and Rina sat in the grass, laughing so hard tears started forming in their eyes. After a few minutes of amusement, the pair got back to their feet and continued heading towards the lake, Aiden choosing to focus on his path over questioning his sister.

"Okay. Don't watch. Go train or something while I practice." Rina told her brother as they entered the clearing where the lake waited for them. Rina ran off before he could question her more, not wanting him watching as she tested her ideas.

"Okay, fine. I'll be right over there. Be careful please. Mom will shoot me if anything happens to you!" Aiden yelled, as she ran towards the stick and pile of rocks they made for target practice.

Rina watched Aiden as he pulled out his dagger, flipping it between both hands before stabbing and slicing an imaginary foe. She watched him cut an opponent in front of him, slide the dagger in the opposite direction, then stab the next enemy behind him. Without losing a step, he tossed the dagger from his dominant hand to the other, swinging it around in a fluid motion to take out the last attacker. Determined to be as good as Aiden was, she focused hard on her magic. She knew she could summon fire, it was just a matter of unlocking the technique of how. Rina sat down, crossed her legs, and faced the circle of rocks with the stick protruding from the ground. She closed her eyes and thought about the boar, the sweat and grime that dripped from it, the snarl that sent snot flying from its nostrils, the stench of the beast. She focused so hard that she could sense the beast as if it was in front of her. She focused harder, pinning her attention on the creature's face, then she changed the image of the face in her head to that of the stick. She knew it rested in the ground in front of her, a target that was not moving. "I can do this..." She muttered to herself. Rina felt the sweat dripping down her face. "I can do this..." She muttered again.

"Rina!" Aiden yelled.

Snapping her eyes open, her focus shattered, Rina looked at Aiden confused. "What?"

"Look..." Aiden said, his jaw dropped as he pointed in the direction of the stick.

Glancing where he pointed, Rina gasped. "I... I did that?" She stuttered in awe, staring at a hole in the ground that was charred and black. "What happened?!" She asked, turning to face Aiden, scared of what she had done.

"I was watching you for like twenty minutes. You were so focused..." Aiden said. "You were muttering to yourself and next thing I know a fireball blew up the stick and that spot was on fire! Full on fire!"